Toes and stars twinkled on night for Staten Island's 'Dancing With the Stars'

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Come and meet those dancing feet, at the Alice Austen House Museum, where some 200 locals reveled in the splendor and sophistication on a starry, starry night.

Just like the hit ABC-TV series, our borough’s version of “Dancing with the Stars” paired professional dancers with Staten Island notables in an all-out dance competition before a panel of three judges. And while judges opted not to pick a winner, they offered much-appreciated observations on style and grace. And with rave reviews in, the buzz is that our version gave ABC some stiff competition.

The back-by-popular-demand event came off to perfection June 18 on the lush lawn of the Alice Austen Museum in Rosebank, the National Historic Landmark known as Clear Comfort that once was home to famed photographer Alice Austen — who we hear was quite a dancer herself!

The event saw six dancers wow the crowd at the haven where dazzling damsels and gentlemanly gents were treated to a panoramic view of New York Harbor.

Kudos to professional dance instructors Marisa Calabrese, Jeff Shelley and Maria Dorman, who went above and beyond in teaching distinguished Latin and ballroom dances to contestants;

Adena Long, borough Parks commissioner; Donna Maxon, president, Council on the Arts & Humanities for Staten Island, and performance artist; Leticia Remauro, chair, Community Board 1 and vice president of community relations and intergovernmental relations, Battery Park City Authority; yours truly, Carol Ann Benanti, Inside Out columnist; Donald DeRosa, world traveler, former sea captain and co-president of the Susan E. Wagner High School PTA, and Vincent Buzzetta, owner of The Cake Artist, a pastry chef and star of the reality show “Staten Island Cakes.”

Kudos, likewise, to Catering by Framboise for their culinary creativity and to Silas Knight and the Brooklyn Horns for topflight musical entertainment.

Event chairs Caroline Ferreri and Jo-Ann Callan, were overwhelmed by the support, charm and artistry of the evening, along with Dr. Carl Rutberg, executive director of the Alice Austen House Museum, and Gail Kelley, director of development.

“Fundraisers are tricky,” said Carl before adding that though you certainly want guests to have a good time, success is measured by funds raised for the cause. “I am therefore thrilled,” he continued, “that the ‘Dancing with the Stars’ not only was a fun, exciting, and beautiful evening but that it also raised more funds than we hoped. My heartfelt thank-you goes out to all our supporters and especially to our dancers, who worked so hard and did such a tremendous job.”

Co-chair Jo-Ann Callan, noted: “Wonderful people, good food, great dancing, and the best view in New York, those were the ingredients Alice Austen used when she threw parties a century ago, and those are the ingredients we use today. I can’t wait to do it again next year. All we need to do now is to recruit dancing stars.”